Vice President Kamala Harris waves after casting the decisive vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act with climate, health care, and tax provisions, US Capitol, Washington, August 7, 2022 (Getty)

I joined Monocle 24’s Georgina Godwin on Monday to evaluate the US Senate’s passage of the historic climate and health care bill.

The $750bn package is a slimmer version of the Biden Administration’s “Build Back Better”, which originally sought $3 trillion. But I explain why the provisions to address climate change and a “green economy” are especially significant.

I also summarize the breaking news of the FBI search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and its political and legal impact.

Listen from 20:48:

See also US Senate Passes Historic Climate and Health Care Bill

The Biden Administration gets things done. It not only has gotten this bill through. It passed the infrastructure bill in 2021. It passed significant legislation to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic. It did all this despite Republican obstruction.

Does this mean anything, given the chatter in American media, ahead of the US elections in November? Probably not.

This is an achievement in the longer term, but in the short term, the bunfight that is American politics may overtake it.